Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Drift Diver Course

PADI Drift Diver Certification

The PADI Drift Diver Course


The PADI Drift Diver Specialty course introduces you to the coolest magic carpet ride you’ll ever experience. This course shows you how to enjoy rivers and ocean currents by “going with the flow,” staying with your dive partner, communicating with the dive boat and knowing where you are the whole time.

The Fun Part


Drift Diving is nearly effortless and relaxing. You simply glide along and enjoy the rush of flying underwater while the current does the work.

What You Learn


During your PADI Drift Diver certification course, you learn about:

  • Planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems, and hazards of drift diving
  • An introduction to drift diving equipment: floats, lines, reels
  • Buoyancy-control, navigation, and communication for drift diving
  • Site selection and overview of aquatic currents: causes and effects
  • Techniques for staying close to a buddy or together as a group
Scuba diver dancing in ocean

The Scuba Gear You Use


You use all the basic scuba gear plus some scuba accessories such as floats, lines, and reels.

Check with your local dive shop about gear rentals and packages offered with this course. You can find most everything at the scuba diving shop

The Learning Materials You Need


The PADI Drift Diver CrewPak.

Scuba Tanks in a row

Prerequisites


You must be:

  • A PADI Open Water Diver or Junior Open Water Diver or have a qualifying certification from another training organization
  • At least 12 years old

Your Next Adventure


The Diver Propulsion Vehicle course introduces you to scuba diving with underwater scooters, which can come in handy while drift diving.

Scuba divers